Day Off

Sunday was the drive from Austin to Nashville. Today is the drive to Charlottesville, Virginia. The University of Virginia is beautiful.

Week of May 12 – May 18

Distance: ~35 mi.

My last week in Austin was another easy one running-wise. I finished school by turning in a paper early last Friday, but had to pull together my life and try to enjoy the city for one last week. Taylor got in late Wednesday night and we got in a couple fun easy runs on IF. Sunday morning, I hit the road… Goodbye Texas.

Week of May 5 - May 11

Distance: ~35 mi.

I started to try to get back into running, but was dealing with a significant amount of schoolwork and a general lack of motivation to get going again. I’m pretty much fine with that, as this is the first serious break I think I’ve taken in about 18 months. I finished up the week with a good run with Tom, Barry and Brian on the Greenbelt.

Week of April 28 - May 4

Distance: ~4.5 mi.

After the half marathon, I took this week almost completely off. The exception was a run with LBJ School dean and professor Jim Steinberg on Friday morning. He’s an active runner, having done most of the major marathons on the east coast.

Week In Review

Time: 255:00
Distance: 40 mi.

A bit of an over-taper week, but I was trying to get work done and catch up on rest. The race was frustrating, especially given that I have no idea when I will be racing again.

Oklahoma City Half Marathon

Time: 90:00
Distance: 16 mi.

Target: Would like to be under the course record of 69:08, shooting for 5:15s (~68:45)
Race: Third place, 71:11. Running decent until ~10 miles, when I got a bad side cramp.

  
Near 3 miles and the finish. Ouch.

Fun experience overall, but the result was fairly disappointing. It was a bizarre morning to start off with, as it was near freezing and raining when we got up, and the race started at 6:30 in the morning. I felt fairly good to start off, going out under 5:00 and then settling in with some miles in 5:15 to 5:20 into the cold Oklahoma wind. I ran with Bernard through about 10k and then he started to pull away. I was in an okay place through about 10 miles, but then got a really bad side cramp that required even stopping to try to massage it out. There was no coming back from it, though, and I pretty much packed it in as I really couldn't breathe at all. I got beat in the last stretch. Terrible.

Didn't even consider cooling down. It's time to rest and do school for a few weeks.

More: race site, full results

Easy OKC

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

Got into Oklahoma last night. Headed to the marathon expo during the day and checked into the hotel. Ran easy along what I thought was the end of the course and back, to get a feel for it.

Run

Time: 40:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Day Off

Busy busy busy.

Run

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Play Ball

Time: 50:00
Distance: 7.5 mi.
Map

Easy run up Shoal Creek Boulevard to the baseball fields at Northwest District Park and back. It is getting hot and humid here. I ran at 2:30 because I just really needed a break from work then. The day off was good... despite being just generally tired, my legs felt great.

Day Off

Planned day off, unlike Jilane and company who were rocking out at Boston!

Week In Review

Time: 466:20
Distance: 69 mi.

A fairly good week of training, with almost 70 miles (what I was shooting for) in 6 days. I was very happy with my workout on Thursday. My only physical complaint is that I've been pretty tired day-to-day.

Next week I am shooting for 50 miles in 6 days, including Sunday's race.

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 92:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Fairly easy longish run with Joe from his house. We headed down to Town Lake and the Greenbelt, just going out and back. My legs (and body in general) feels pretty tired, but the run went well.

Shoal Creek Loop

Time: 46:20
Distance: 7 mi.

Brian and I ran between events at the Texas Twilight meet. My legs are beat from volleyball last night.

Notable performances at the meet included Jacob's 1:47.36 and Stanley getting second in the 1500 in 3:45.76 off a slow pace. Rob busted out a 9:38 in his first-ever steeple. I still wish I had been able to give that a shot...

Town Lake, Track, Greenbelt

Time: 62:00
Distance: 9 mi.

Easy afternoon run with Brian. We started at Barton Springs and ran over to the Austin High track so that he could do a 10 minute tempo. He's basing his getting back into shape plan on the idea that you run at a reasonable tempo pace from the get-go and then just increase the length until you are doing some solid work. I like the idea... get the legs used to running fast off the bat. After that we ran back to Barton Springs and did a short out-and-back on the Greenbelt.

After the run we hopped in the water, got some BBQ, and played beach volleyball for four hours.

IF Long Intervals

Time: 82:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: alternating 1 miles and 2 miles, 3 x 1 mile and 2 x 2 mile; 1 miles in 5:00 w/2:00 rest, 2 miles in 10:30 w/3:00 rest
Workout: 5:06, 10:20, 4:59, 10:22, 4:58

Morning workout on this loop around IF. I felt fairly good, though the humidity started to get to me in the second half of the workout. I was able to stay focused throughout the workout, but I haven't run that hard in a few weeks. My legs felt good, but I will definitely be sore tomorrow. This is the last hard effort before the OKC Half a week from Sunday.

The loop appears to actually be about 40 meters long, according to the GMap Pedometer at least, which would mean that each mile was ~8 seconds long. That would be dandy.

Greenbelt

Time: 43:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy run after class down on the Greenbelt. It felt good just to shake my legs out a little bit, and I love getting out into the woods.

Bull Run, IF

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.75 mi.

Easy morning run with Brian on the Bull Run loop (with an extra loop on Bull Creek). We got back to the house at about 47:00, so I added on the last 2 miles on IF. Still feeling the shin a bit, but it definitely isn't bad.

Day Off

Planned day off. Doing school work, resting the legs, etc.

Bull Run

Time: 40:36
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy afternoon run with Dave on the Bull Run loop.

IF

Time: 40:36
Distance: 6 mi.


View Larger Map

Easy morning run on IF. I have had a "niggle" (as Jordan would call it) on my left shin for a few days. It started as just a little thing that I felt when I wasn't running. Now I feel it a little bit when I run. I'm going to keep an eye on it.

Week In Review

Time: 591:00
Distance: 90.5 mi.

This was a fairly good week of training. Solid distance days, including a fairly good up-tempo Sunday run. I was a bit disappointed with Wednesday's workout which was hurt by the humidity, but there wasn't too much I could do about it without killing it to try and get through it, which wouldn't have done me too much good. I'm still adjusting to the Elixir's, I'll have to see if they work in the long run, but for the moment they are okay.

Two weeks until the Oklahoma City Half Marathon. Next week I'm shooting for 70 miles with a shorter and faster workout (mile or 2 mile repeats?), and the next week will be more like 50 miles with strides.

Town Lake, Infield

Time: 105:00
Distance: 17 mi.

Target: 105 minute run with a 4 mile tempo in 5:35s in the middle
Workout: 48:40, 4 miles in 21:36 (5:24 avg), 34:51 (including 8 diagonal strides)

I met the guys for their Sunday run from the track. Apparently they have been doing this mid-long run tempo for a few weeks (not including last week). This worked fine for my "get Wednesday and Sunday hard efforts" plan leading up to the half. We got rolling on the east side of Town Lake, down to close to 6 minute pace before starting the tempo at 0.0. It didn't take long to get into the pace, as the first mile was about 5:28 and the rest were faster. They have finally cleared out the construction near the South First and Congress bridges, so we could do the "normal" (i.e. 80m long) 4 mile tempo. I felt fantastic aerobically the whole way, but my legs got tired.

The guys finished up on the infield for about 5 minutes when we got back at around 85:00, and I added on another 15 with some diagonal strides with a quick jog in the middle.

I also got back in my Elite 2s for this run, my right peroneal still hasn't warmed up, so to speak, to the Elixir's.

Greenbelt

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.


The "enchanted forest" section of the trail, about 3 miles in

This is the best weather we ever get in Austin, and seems like the best weather you could have almost anywhere. The air is cool and the sun is warm. I don't know why I don't get down to the Greenbelt more often, as I feel totally in my element once I get on the trails there. This was a great way to get in 90 minutes of running where you can't go too fast (too many rocks, windy trails, little hills) but feel like you're putting in a good effort.

Finished (of course) in the dog pond near Barton Springs.

Play Ball, IF

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.
Map

I put off running this morning, which was fine. It was a beautiful day--warm sun, cool air, no humidity. I could have used a day like this on Wednesday. I started running a bit before Brian got home, and got in 50 minutes heading north on Shoal Creek Blvd. and looping around a baseball field and park that I found out there. Once I got back he and I ran around IF. Feeling a little off after this run... I might just be dehydrated.

Balcones, Bridle Path, Shoal Creek

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Mid-week medium long run with Erik. We were both fairly content running easy, and it is still pretty humid, so it was easy to enjoy the run. We headed out to Balcones on 45th, connected to Scenic and Bridle Path and then came back up Shoal Creek to 24th.

My legs were pretty tired by the end, but nothing too bad. I am having a slight problem with my right shoe... it seems to come up fairly high near my ankles and is slightly aggravating my right peroneal tendon. I'll have to take a look at either getting some thicker heel pads or modifying the shoes.

4 Mile Tempo, Fartlek

Time: 66:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Target: 2 x 4 mile tempo in 5:15-5:20 (21:00 to 21:20) with 3 minutes rest (like this workout from last fall)
Workout: 1 x 4 mile tempo in 21:47 (5:21.9, 5:24.8, 5:24.7, 5:36.3); 10 x 45 seconds hard, 60 seconds easy

The humidity owned me. When I was warming up I tried to convince myself that it wasn't that bad and that I would feel fine once I settled in. That did not happen. The first mile was rough, the second mile was rough, the third mile felt terrible and the fourth mile I packed it in. It was definitely the day, not me, as last week I put in a similar effort over 10 miles on a relatively cool morning. I didn't want to totally stop, and after a few minutes of standing recovery I didn't feel awful, so I did the fartlek back around Town Lake and to Zilker where I parked the car.

Barton Springs afterwards hit the spot.

Shoal Creek, Town Lake, Infield

Time: 70:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.

A bit of a hodgepodge run out to Shoal Creek where some of the guys were working out (there's a Flocast video coming) and then Darren, Kyle and I went down to Town Lake. I finished with 10 minutes barefoot on the infield of the track. This is the first day this spring that it has been significantly hot and humid, and I felt pretty flat. I like the new shoes, though.

New Shoes: Mizuno Elixir 3

Time for some new shoes. While I've enjoyed the Nike Elites which I've been wearing for the last year (it's the only Nike shoe I can stand, basically), I'm not tied to them, so I was happy to try something else. I like a lightweight trainer with a stiff midsole, so I considered the Asics Landreth 4 (I was a big fan of its original incarnation... I tried the DS Trainer once and wasn't a big fan) and the Brooks Axiom 2 before settling on the Mizuno Elixir 3. It is a bit roomier than the Elite 3 and has a softer upper, but the midsole is stiffer and lower-profile.


Plus, I want people to look at my feet.

Modified Possum Trot, IF

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
Map

I started with Erik, running down to campus where he had weights. After I dropped him off I headed down towards Town Lake when I ran into Joe, so I ended up with running companions most of the way. Possum Trot worked well for Joe, who was heading around back to his house, off Exposition, so we modified it a little bit and I dropped him off there before heading home. I was near the house at about 80 minutes and was feeling okay, so I decided to add a bit on IF. My legs were tired by the end, and my right glute is sore. I desparately need new shoes, which I will try to take care of today.

Week In Review

Time: 541:06
Distance: 82.25 mi.

Overall a very good week of training, marred by having to take the day off on Saturday, rather than getting in the 80 minute run that I was planning. Good workout, good long run and decent milage all week. My knee doesn't seem to be bad, so training should be back to normal next week, which should be my last week up before tapering a little bit for the next two.

Mt. Bonnell, Scenic, Town Lake, Track

Time: 120:00
Distance: 18.75 mi.
Map


Mid-way up Mt. Bonnell (View Larger Map)

I met the Texas guys at the track for a bit of an easier Sunday run than Vig usually has planned. It was a recovery day for a bunch of them, so the long group was just 90 minutes at a fairly easy pace. We ran Mt. Bonnell and Scenic, skipped Stratford and headed to Town Lake on Lake Austin. It was a beautiful day and everyone seemed it good spirits. My knee is still stiff, but it loosened up.

When they finished up at 90 minutes, I got on the track to try to get a bit of an uptempo effort in. I was shooting for 3 or 4 miles depending on how I was feeling. I ended up running 5:26, 5:27, 5:26, 5:18 (21:37). Birdsong ran the first two miles with me and then I ran the rest on my own. I finished up with an easy mile on the infield.

The most inspiring race of the weekend had to be Darren's 3:59.99 in the mile. He's been on the cusp for a while, and I think has felt a lot of pressure to do it, especially as he was trying to make his father and him the first American father-son sub-four duo. Hopefully he'll be able to have a breakthrough now that breaking four isn't his day-to-day focus.

Ouch! My Leg!

A late night with some roughhousing led to some severe soreness in my knee. It just didn't make sense to run today.

IF, Ridgetop, etc.

Time: 85:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Easy afternoon run with Dave, Brian and Raul. Dave and I started on IF, Raul met us there and then we picked up Brian when he got back from work. I was feeling pretty good overall, though this was a bit of a tedious way to run 85 minutes.

Bridle Path

Time: 70:00
Distance: 10 mi.
Map

I had to start this run fairly slow because my right hamstring and hip flexors were very tight. They loosened up some, but I was a bit sore most of the way. I wanted to make a loop on Scenic that was shorter than the loop with Town Lake, so I headed east on Bridle Path and finished up Hartford to Jefferson. It was only 70 minutes, but by the end I was feeling a little shot so I called it quits and will do an easy double this afternoon.

Update: Well I didn't do a double, but I did watch some more of the Texas Relays. The highlight so far? Nope, not the guys breaking the school 4 x 800m record. Erik keeping his 'stache for his 800 on Wednesday:

The Full Town Lake

Time: 92:00
Distance: 15 mi.

Target: 10 miles in the 5:30s
Workout: 5:44, 5:38, 5:37, 11:22 (2 miles, around construction), 5:34, 5:32, 5:30, 5:33, 5:22 - total: 55:54, average: 5:35.4



I was looking for a long, hard and steady run that I could push without going to the well. Town Lake is obviously the place to do this, with soft surfaces, measured miles and few breaks. Unfortunately the city is in the middle of tearing up part of the area between miles 3 and 4, which threw this off a little bit--I had to run down some stairs and through another intersection to keep the distance correct. The first few miles were a little tough adjusting to the pace, but I felt pretty good by halfway. I was definitely within myself throughout the run.

West Side

Time: 81:30
Distance: 12.5 mi.


The hill at Pease Park

I warmed up and cooled down with Jake, who was doing hills at Pease Park (where Joe and I worked out a few weeks ago) and did a loop in West Austin while he was working out. It was a beautiful afternoon and it was nice to catch up with him. He is very psyched about running these days, after a stellar indoor season. He ran a tough workout on those hills, especially given that it is starting to get a bit hot and humid here. I hadn't met up with the guys at practice for a few weeks, so it was nice to be back there... almost a bit nostalgic, especially with Texas Relays coming up this week. I finished up with 10 minutes easy on the grass.

Long Bull Run

Time: 51:20
Distance: 7.5 mi.

Easy afternoon run with Brian and Dave. We started out on Bull Run and then added on up to North Loop instead of finishing on 45th. Legs pretty tired this afternoon, but a good recovery day with some volume.

Campus Loop

Time: 41:20
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy morning recovery run. I ran down to campus with Erik who had a weight room session with the team, and then I looped back through campus.

Week in Review

Time: 404:00
Distance: 62.5 mi.

A decent week leading up to a pretty good race. It felt good to taper, and I felt good in the race. My mile workout was encouraging, as well.

After trying to put together a race plan or find something good to get ready for since the USA Cross Country meet I did manage to get a new plan. After the Capitol 10k, Gilbert got me in touch with the race director of the Oklahoma City Marathon, who offered to fly me up and put me in a hotel for their half marathon on April 27. That will give me time for two-plus weeks of hard training and then a decent taper to really try to run a good and more serious race.

Here's a tentative training outline. I will do one mid-week workout and then a steady long run for the next 3 weeks and then one race-week workout.

Week of March 31: 10 mile steady/tempo run
Week of April 7: 2 x 4 mile tempo
Week of April 14: ~6 x 1 mile repeats (short rest)
Week of April 21: 4 mile tempo, 800s

Capitol 10k

Time: 70:00
Distance: 11 mi.
Course Map

Target: run a conservative race, maybe 31:30?
Race: 31:38 for 3rd, splits: 4:57, 5:11, 5:30, 4:54, 10:24 [mile 5 marker was off] (:51)


The start of the race on Congress Avenue


There were over 15,000 people


I spent a lot of the first half with guys who are 15 and 46

This is a slow course, and it was a slow day, but I put in a decent effort. I was not enthused by the sticky air as I got in my car to head downtown to the race. It was supposidly close to 100% humidity before it started, but as we stood on the line the sky opened up and it started to rain, which was greeted by the cheers of thousands of people getting ready to go.

I went out conservatively, and was a bit behind the leaders at the mile. My goal was to not feel as flat as I had the last two times I raced at the Diploma Dash and the Daisy Run, and given how hilly the first half of this race is I decided that pacing the first half would be a good call. This proved to be true, but I did get into a little bit of a tempo-ing mentality, especially as the race thinned. I caught the guy in 3rd around 4 miles in and soon thereafter it was clear that I wasn't going to catch Bernard, who was ahead of me, and that I wasn't going to get caught. I finished decently well, though, and did feel much better than I have recently--probably a combination of the longer distance, the more conservative race plan, and having tapered a bit. (And yes, the ringer they brought in to win was wearing board shorts.)

The Austin American Statesman has more photos and a recap. The local Fox station also did a segment on the race.

Ridgetop

Time: 35:00
Distance: 5 mi.

Easy morning run with Brian. Legs felt a little flat, though I did play some volleyball last night, so that could be what I was feeling.

Bull Run

Time: 40:00
Distance: 6 mi.
Map

Easy afternoon run. I'm trying to taper a bit more for a race than I have since last fall. This is a good 40 minute run that could be a regular short run. Legs felt better than I expected.

Zilker Miles

Time: 75:45
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 4-5 x 1 mile in ~4:45, 3:00 jogging rest
Workout: 4:44.3, 4:46.6, 4:41.7, 4:42.4, 4:44.0 (avg: 4:43.8)

A fairly good solo workout. I used the 1 mile loop from the Rogue site (though none of the markings on the road seem to correspond to this loop) which was fairly good for repeats. I alternated between heading out on Columbus (which I started on, and I think is easier) and heading out on Andrew Zilker. Once I got through three, I was pretty sure that I would be able to make it through five at about that pace without going to the well, so that's what I decided on. I did have to put socks on after the third, though, as I started to get a blister on my left foot.

The loop is easier from the clockwise direction because the only uphill section is short and steep and then the whole second half is gradually downhill. The counter-clockwise direction starts with a half mile gradual uphill and then you have to pound the steep downhill before heading up again before the finish.

The profile of the loop from the clockwise direction

Looking up the hill on Columbus

At the moment I'm glad that I put this off until today, as I felt much better when I woke up this morning than I did the last few days... I'll see how I feel by Sunday, though.

Update: It looks like Google just added Street View on Google Maps for Austin, which will allow me to post more random pictures of the places I'm running.

IF

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

Easy half hour on IF in the morning. Good thing I planned to move that workout to tomorrow, as I was dragging ass.

I did get an entry for this weekend's Capitol 10k, though, courtesy of the Austin American-Statesman. Also, I just ran across some "tips for the race" from my friend Gilbert Tuhabonye, who runs one of the training groups in town. This will probably not be a very fast race.

Balcones Loop

Time: 68:12
Distance: 10.75
Map

Running a bit quicker today might not have served much point, but I'm taking a mini-taper down week this week, and I was feeling a bit stressed, so I felt like running hard again. This could be regular, but should be modified to take out the northern section above Hancock Drive, which is not very nice. It could be extended near Windsor or something to the south.

Home to Zilker

Time: 45:00
Distance: 7 mi.
Map

Ran from home down to Zilker for volleyball "practice" with Brian and Barry. For me this meant standing in the sand and pathetically swatting the ball on the few occasions it came my direction. The run was fine... I was hungry and tired after class. My right quad is sore.

Bull Creek, 29th

Time: 40:00
Distance: 6 mi.
Map

Morning run from the house. Got going a bit to try to get the stiffness out of my legs.

Week In Review

Time: 589:00
Distance: 91.5 mi.

A quality and refreshing week of life and training. I'm not killing myself over not getting back much over 90 miles, as I am planning on racing the Capitol 10k next Sunday and am hoping to feel less flat than I did at the Diploma Dash and Daisy 5k races of the last few weeks. I didn't take either of those too seriously, but this should be a more quality effort. Two long drives, though, and back-to-back hard days this weekend have taken a bit of a toll on my legs, though, which are feeling a bit beat at the moment. I will probably try to get in easy efforts on Monday and Tuesday and then do my one workout of the week on Wednesday.

Longer term... maybe I'll do the Oklahoma City Half Marathon?

Safari

Time: 111:00
Distance: 17.5 mi.
Map

A square-ish long run with Jordan from his place on my last morning in Norman. We began with 4 miles directly into an unrelenting 15+ mph wind. As soon as I was about to start hating him and running in general, we turned east and got out of the wind. It was fairly nice out there, with very straight rolling roads and farms abound. We got down to a steady pace, which was definitely good. It has been really nice to run with Jordan, who keeps the pace honest and the mood light. It has been a very nice change of pace (literally and figuratively) training with him the last few days. He posted the splits and the rundown:

Hit splits of: 6:59, 6:43, 6:38, 6:35, 6:26, 6:26, 6:09, 6:21, 6:07, 6:07, 6:04, 6:12, 6:05, 6:02, 6:05... We were trying to come up with a name for the run and some ideas were: "Rusty Tractor," "Rusty Wheel," "Midget Horse," "Wild Dogs," and "Dead Squirrel."

I've decided on naming the run "Safari." For one, we were a bit in the middle of nowhere. For two, there were a lot of animals: more dogs than I could count, squirrels (including a dead one), a dead skunk, turkeys, cows, hawks, horses, and yes, in fact, two miniature horses.

5 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 82:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

Target: average of ~5:10 for 5 miles on Jordan's "Tetris" loop; 6 x 300m in 48-49 with 100m quick jog
Workout: 25:48 (avg. 5:09.6); 6 x 300m in 48-50 (7:59 total)

I met Jordan at the OU track to start warming up for the tempo and 300s. He worked out a loop (that looks a bit like a Tetris piece) for his tempo last week, and we used it again. This time it featured the good old 360 degree Oklahoma wind that is at your face at almost every turn. He led through the first half and then I led the rest. The splits are a little weird, but we started in 5:12 and brought it down to 5:06 for the last mile. The blocks are exact distances here, so it was easy to know when we had gone 1/4, 1/2 and 1 mile at different places in the course.

The finishing point gave us just shy of 10 minutes back to the track for 300s. I wasn't feeling too sharp, and it showed. I was between 48 and 49-high on the 300s, Jordan was 48-45. The jog was a little slower than it probably should have been too.

As it turned out, Jordan was being a milage hero and managed to get in a longer warmup and cooldown than I did. Who does that?

Corn Dog

Time: 60:00
Distance: 9 mi.

Run from Jilane's house with Jordan. As he describes in his log, we ran across a major Corn Dog spill near Norman High School. A tragedy, to be sure, but we had to soldier on. I was thinking of doubling today, but was feeling pretty beat at the end of the day and seem to be still fighting off a bit of a cold.

Bobcat

Time: 85:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.

I headed up for a long weekend in Norman, OK last night and met Jordan at his place in the morning for a run. We headed out on his "Bobcat" run. I'm not sure what makes this a standard run for him, as he has it listed on his log ranging from 12 to 20 miles, and many things in-between. After a few miles we got into a fairly steady pace, just over (and one mile apparently just under) 6 minute pace. It was a little bit windy and there are some rolling hills out in the country outside of Norman. The streets out there are also in one square mile grids, so you can split almost everything. This would make me hammer most of my runs... wait a second...

My legs felt a bit dead... I probably need new shoes relatively soon, but I just calculated that I've got about 375 miles on these, so they should last another week.

Barton Springs Loop Speed Play

Time: 72:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.
Map

Target: fartlek with 5 sets of 3:00 hard, 1:00 easy, :30 harder, 2:00 easy (based on this pre-Big 12 XC workout)
Workout: felt a bit stiff getting started, but we were rolling by the last two sets



Ran from Joe's house down to the road loop at Barton Springs. The loop is about 1.25 miles, so I figured that each set would be close to one loop. It came a bit short on most of them, but we did get closer near the end as we were running harder. The total workout was 4+ loops. I was happy with the effort that we were able to get in. We headed out to Town Lake for a slightly longer cooldown.

Shoal Creek Blvd to Foster

Time: 60:00
Distance: 9 mi.
Map

Afternoon run with Dave. I have been trying to explore up north and since this morning was a bit of a bust of a run, Dave and I headed in that direction. It is almost exactly 30 minutes to Foster Lane, which is where it seems that Shoal Creek Blvd. turns leaves the neighborhoods and heads into strip mall city.

I think the only way to do a loop out there is to head west on Northland about 2.5 miles into the run, cross Mopac, and then head south on Balcones and back around... something like this.

Stop 'n' Go

Time: 39:00?
Distance: 5.5 mi.

Dragging ass this morning. I need to sleep better. A bit of a stop-and-go run with Brian out north west of our place, and we cut it short. I'll do my longer run this afternoon.

I still need a new watch.

IF, 15th Street Loop

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Morning jog starting on IF for 20 minutes and then meeting up with Erik to run the 15th Street Loop. He was only going 40 minutes, so we ran down Shoal Creek and over to the track where he could get weights in. I just ran back up to the house.

Week In Review

Time: 477:00
Distance: 70.5 mi.

A bit of an up-and-down running week. I was okay with taking a day off, and 70 miles in 6 days with no "real" long run isn't too bad.


White Rabbits at Club De Ville

The highlight of the week South by Southwest. Here's a recap of the best stuff Brian, Ian, and I saw:

• Deer Tick


• Simian Mobile Disco (not normally my type of thing, but they put on quite a show)


• Spoon (would've been better in a smaller venue)


• The Whigs


• Handsome Furs


• White Rabbits


• Constantines

15th Street Loop

Time: 60:00
Distance: 9 mi.

Easy morning all-house run with Erik and Brian. We ran to the track so that Erik could switch shoes and then finished up down to 15th and up Shoal Creek. Given yesterday's effort, and the long week, this was fine for me.

Daisy 5k, TNT 2-Mile

Time: 95:00
Distance: 15 mi.

Target: get a good long-ish effort in; close to 15:00 for the 5k and 9:40 for the 2 mi. with as much running between as fits
Workout/Race: 15:12 for 2nd (behind Joe), 9:52? for 2nd (behind Bernard); 40 minutes on Town Lake as "rest"


15:12? Ouch!

I wasn't planning on this at all, but was offered a comp entry for both by the Austin Runners Club, so I decided to use this as my longer workout for the week. By the time this came around I had some serious sleep deprivation, so it was an effort to even get up, but it was a beautiful morning and fairly cool. I didn't know quite what I'd be able to do, so two hard efforts were my only real goal. Both races (which shared the first and last mile) were downhill out and uphill back, and I positive-split both pretty well. In the 5k Joe was able to beat the first woman, who started 3 minutes earlier, to win the "Daisy Challenge." Dave ran down to watch me flounder, and we ran 40 minutes on Town Lake in between. By the time I started the 2 mile my legs were pretty beat, which showed in the second uphill mile, where I was over 5 minutes.

By the time I was finished, I was totally beat. It wasn't a terrible outing... 5 miles of good effort and decent volume. I hit the cold pool and lay down outside afterward before getting ready for more SXSW.

Also, Wish, who I saw at the race, did a nice recap (with one weird quote from me about running 14:20).

Town Lake, Greenbelt

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.

Easy (but dehydrated) run with Brian and Dave from 0.0 over to the Greenbelt. Whew.

15th Street Loop, Ridgetop

Time: 87:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Got up, tired again from a night out seeing some music, and hit the road with Brian. We did the 15th Street Loop together and then I ran up around Ridgetop and back by Hancock. I felt better than I expected.

Also, I lost another Nike watch to wristband breakage. Who is surprised? These things are terrible.

Day Off

Impromptu day off. I'm tired.

Pease Park Hills

Time: 13.5 mi.
Distance: 90:00

Target: hard effort-based hill workout with decent volume, make myself tired/hurt
Workout: 16 x Pease Park hills (up and over, alternating sides); from ~60 down to ~54 (the far side is longer but less steep, so they work out to be about the same time)

Warmed up with Ian who was just running easy up Shoal Creek a bit, and Joe met us there. We started by doing two hills up the shorter and steeper side before deciding to use both sides. We ran the hills pretty well, and Joe started to push the pace on the last 4, which was good as I needed a little kick in the ass. On the last one I had him wait and run to catch me, as he was definitely feeling better than I was.

I was pretty tired from being up late last night, as South by Southwest is getting started and Brian, Ian and I were up late last night seeing a few shows.

Hyde Park, IF

Time: 85:00
Distance: 12 mi.

A very easy 12 mile run to incorporate both Ian--who is in town for the next few days--and Brian's schedules. I did one loop around Hyde Park before Brian got back from work, and then we all went out to IF. Ian is nursing a sore calf, so he would stop every once and a while to walk and stretch it out while Brian and I kept looping. It's nice to have Brian back doing some more serious runs.

Week In Review

Time: 628:00
Distance: 94.5 mi.

I'm getting the milage back up, which is good. I have no idea what I'm really training for, which is okay, but not great. With spring break, visitors and SXSW this upcoming week, it might be a little bit of a down week, which is fine. I got one workout in, which is not good, but I will get in two workouts next week, which is very good. I should relax a bit more about running and everything else, which would be good.

Town Lake Lollipop, IF

Time: 125:00
Distance: 20 mi.
Map

Solo long run, which I was actually fairly happy about. It was nice to have a little space. Because I only worked out once this week, I wanted to make sure that this was a decent effort. I figured that I could run down to Town Lake (4.5+ mi.) do the whole loop (10 mi.) and come back for close to 2 hours, focusing on running steady through the middle 10 miles. I got out the door fairly quick and was running just over 6 minute pace by the time I was on Town Lake. I did the loop in 61:00. I was over 19 miles into the run when I got back to the house at 118 minutes, so I added on a few minutes on IF just running easy to get myself over 20 miles.

Hip flexors and hamstrings were pretty sore by the end of this, but I got in our cold-ass pool afterwards, which will hopefully help.

Reverse Scenic, Town Lake Loop

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.
Map

Started heading south to pick up Dave... after a short discussion about the fact that we always run the same places, we headed down to do the Scenic, Town Lake run backwards. He was hoping to get some decent volume in today, so I tagged along for a little longer than I was planning on doing. Miles of trails.

4 Mile Tempo, 300s

Time: 81:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 4 mile tempo at ~5:10; 6 x 300m in a good effort with 100m quick jog
Workout: 20:46 (5:12, 5:10, 5:15, 5:08); 48, 50, 48, 49, 48, 47 (8:10 for 1.5 mi.)


Mile 1 on Town Lake is on the bridge near Barton Springs

Chilly, windy morning in Austin. Joe and I ran from his house down to the Austin High track. We dropped off our flats and met Stanley, who had run from campus. The tempo was from the 2 mile mark to 0.0 and back. There was a fairly strong wind from the west, so the way out wasn't too bad, but we were fighting it all the way back. I was pretty stiff for the first mile of the tempo, but settled in. If the wind hadn't been so bad it wouldn't have been terrible to make this 5 miles, but the 5:08 at the end was a fight.

Joe and I jogged for 10 minutes and switched into flats before starting the 300s. We knew that one straightaway would have a lot of wind, so we didn't focus on the time other than to try to run even throughout.

Overall, it was a good workout despite the Oklahoma-esq wind. Unlike Oklahoma, however, there has been minimal leg bitage.

Town Lake East

Time: 80:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.

I'm back on a decent routine of running early almost every morning. Today Raul met me at my place and we ran down through campus and downtown to Town Lake, heading east towards the dam. We didn't make it quite that far before we turned around. We were running fairly easy and I felt pretty stiff in my hamstrings, glute and back.

Yesterday the high was close to 80. Today the high is 54 and it is getting colder most of the day. Don't think you're the only one with crazy weather, New England.

Possum Trot

Time: 60:00
Distance: 9 mi.

Just after I turned my midterm in I headed over to the track to get my second run in before my 2pm class. Ideally I would've had more time between the runs, but it was gorgeous out and I was relieved to have the paper done, so it felt good to get out. I was feeling much looser this afternoon and just cruising along at a decent clip. I ran the original Possum Trot, though I did run on the south side of Town Lake where there is less construction. By the end of the run I started feeling pretty tired and was definitely pretty dehydrated.

Campus Loop

Time: 44:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Early morning run with Brian around the UT campus. I was thinking about adding on more, but had a bunch of work to do on a midterm paper due at noon, so I figured I would work on that and just double. Body is pretty stiff, but we were running nice and easy.

Northwest Loop

Time: 61:00
Distance: 9 mi.
Map (approximate)

Chilly early morning run. I decided to head northwest to look for a new loop, possibly on the hilly Balcones road north of Mount Bonnell. I ended up staying on the east side of Mopac and winding up along part of the Austin Marathon course. Once I hit the upper part of Shoal Creek Rd. I took that back down. That section was fairly nice, and I'm sure that there is a decent loop that could be made out there for a regular run. On the way out I ran by a polling place for today's primary and some woman yelled to me, asking if I was going to vote today. "Yup!"

Normally I would do a workout today but I wasn't sure how my left foot was going to feel. It was a little sore again, but a bit more generally and not as sharp, from my shin all across the top of my foot. This probably indicates that I'm compensating for it a little bit. Probably good to push a workout back one day.

Possum Trot XL

Time: 87:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Classic New England weather: 50 degrees and raining. This was actually quite refreshing--I commented to Joe during our run yesterday that I thought we desperately need rain to clear the humidity. To try to make this run a little bit longer I added on by going on the south side of Town Lake and looping around near Barton Springs.

Despite being stiff the first mile or two I was able to get in a groove fairly quickly and was feeling very good clipping along. Unfortunately, the slight soreness from the end of Sunday's run in my left foot started to flare up after about 70 minutes. I stopped a few times to try to adjust my shoes, but to no avail... the soreness just got worse all the way in, so I didn't add on to make it 90 minutes.

I'll try to ice this today... I think it is just a bit of tendonitis. Maybe I tied my flats too tight on Saturday?

Week In Review

Time: 603:00
Distance: 89 mi.

I would've liked to have gotten back into the mid-90s, but at least I am building back up. The workout Wednesday was good, and the race on Saturday wasn't bad... I'm moving in the right direction. Continued focus and a little more discipline with the non-running stuff will help.

This was also college indoor track conference weekend. The Texas guys did very well, pulling off a somewhat unexpected win at Big 12s due largely to solid distance performances: wins in the 800, mile, 1000, DMR; 2nd in the 3k; 4th in the mile. The Brown guys had a bit of a rough weekend at Heps featuring a pretty slim squad, scoring just 16 (?) points on the track.

Scenic, Stratford, Town Lake

Time: 120:00
Distance: 18 mi.
Map

Early morning long run with Joe. We met near his house and made up this loop as we were going. I was pretty tired and my legs were a little beat, but I was able to get rolling along after we got off Stratford. It felt good to get back on the 2 hour train. I was very dehydrated.

Update: I forgot to mention that my right hip was sore near the top of my IT band at the beginning of the run and seemed to loosen up. By the end of the run I seemed to have some soreness on the top/inside of my left foot.

UTSA Diploma Dash 5k

Time: 55:00
Distance: 9 mi.

Goal: Finish in the top 3, run under 15:00
Race: 4th in 14:58*; mile splits: 4:40, 4:47, 5:00?

Joe and I headed down to UT San Antonio for the Diploma Dash 5k. The main appeal was decent 3-deep prize money. I saw that last year it had gone about 15 flat, so I figured it would be worth a shot. I am hoping to race more regularly, so this fit with that as well.





It became clear fairly quickly that there were five guys seriously in it and (by the mile) that it was going to get strung out. Westly Keating led it from the get-go and never looked back. Joe led and tried to fight off Klbet Cherop but couldn't overcome his kick in the final straight. I felt a bit over my head coming through the mile in 4:40 (which I was) so I settled in 5th for most of the race. In the last half mile I was able to track down and outkick Derek Yorek, which gave me some satisfaction given that the race was far more competitive than we were expecting. It was deceptively humid given that the temperature was pretty mild.

1 Keating, Westly 465 14:02.1 14:02.1 4:31 1 1 Pharr TX
2 Cherop, Klbet 891 14:26.5 14:26.9 4:39 2 2  
3 Thorne, Joe 752 14:27.2 14:27.2 4:39 3 3 Austin TX
4 Washburn, Owen 797 14:56.0 14:56.0 4:48 4 4 Austin TX
5 Yorek, Derek 887 15:01.2 15:01.2 4:50 5 5  

Check the race site for full results and more information.

I was going to run a shakeout in the afternoon, but ended up playing a few hours of volleyball instead. It was a fair trade.

*I am listed at 14:56 in the results, but this picture shows that is clearly not true. They messed up the results and I think took my guess of "14:56-14:58" right after the race to put in a time.

Central Market, IF, Long Tower Loop

Time: 75:30
Distance: 11 mi.

Fairly easy morning run. I started with Brian for the loops around the trail near Central Market and one loop of IF, and then ran a long version of the Tower Loop that included part of Ridgetop. My legs still feel a little bit beat from Wednesday's workout... especially my hip flexors. Originally I was going to run 80 minutes, but when I was getting close to home at 75 I decided that would be fine.

Our pool doesn't make a terrible cold bath...

Sunshine

Time: 30:00
Distance: 4 mi.

Brian and I ran west on North Loop and then into the neighborhoods on Sunshine to a track off of 47th. Easy double run. We talked about doing a "tracks of Austin" workout--like the tracks of Amherst workout which involved doing intervals on the Amherst High School, UMass and Amherst College tracks. Here it which could involve this track, the UT track, the Austin High track and the sweet track we found on the east side. That could be a very solid distance workout.

15th Street Loop

Time: 60:00
Distance: 8.5 mi.

Joe, Dave, Darren and Raul met at the house for a morning run. We did the standard 15th Street loop coming back up Shoal Creek. Raul and Dave started from their houses and peeled off early to get home. Not a fast run at all, and I ended up deciding to split the run today rather than add on as my legs were tired from yesterday's workout.

2k Buildup, 400s

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: 800m (2:00 rest), 1200m (3:00), 1600m (4:00), 2000m (4:00), 3 x 400m (1:00); long intervals at 70 pace, 400s under 65
Workout: 2:20.5, 3:31.0, 4:39.9, 5:53.3, 66.5, 64.5, 64.2

Brian suggested a Barry Harwick workout, as I didn't really know what I wanted to do this week and was just going to run the workout alone (yeah, I need a better plan soon). I was happy with his suggestion and it turned out well.


The Austin High track (since redone with red rubber) right on Town Lake

I decided to head down to the Austin High School track as a change of pace--it was nice to be able to warm up and cool down on Town Lake and I was hoping it would be empty. Instead, however, I had the Hot Middle-Aged Women's Track Club doing repeat miles in 7:00. At first I was annoyed, but it turned out they provided good targets to run down during the workout. It took a little time to settle in--the mile probably felt the best of all the intervals--but it was a good combination of strength and speed. It was good to get in a faster gear to end it. I got in a 25 minute warmup and a 30 minute cooldown to keep the volume up.

I have signed up for the Diploma Dash, a 5k in San Antonio this weekend, but am not planning on tapering for it.

Bull Creek, Hancock

Time: 47:40
Distance: 7 mi.

Darren ran from the track and met me at our place. We ran up to Bull Creek and did 1.5 loops there and then went down to 38th, across to Hancock and the I ran home. Another easy run and my legs feel good. I'm a bit tired from the last few days, though, and have to run back to school for my night class.

Also it looks like I might be back on the trails and roads Rock Creek Park by this summer...

Long Ridgetop

Time: 45:00
Distance: 6.5 mi.

Early morning run with Dave and Brian. This might be what Jordan would call getting in "time on my feet." Did a loop around the outside of IF before running 30 minutes with them.

IF, 15th Street Loop

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Joe came over to run from the house, and knowing that he would want to go a bit shorter than I would, I started with 20 minutes around IF. We did the standard 15th Street loop down Shoal Creek and back up through campus and Hyde Park. I felt surprisingly good given the beating my legs have taken the last few days. I do have a little strange tightness in my left IT band and my left shin was a little sore, but I don't think either of these things is major.

Week In Review

Time: 537:30
Distance: 81 mi.

Not a bad week getting back into things. I was a bit run down in the middle of the week, which resulted in just a 6 mile day on Thursday, but at least I got in all the rest of the miles this week in singles. Maybe I can start adding some evening doubles into my schedule after class / before dinner to get the milage up close to 100 mpw without killing it. Now it is time to make a plan and get on two quality workouts per week that aren't so ad hoc.

Town Lake East, Hancock Loop

Time: 105:00
Distance: 17 mi.

Met the guys at the track for their 80 minute taper long run (Big XIIs is next weekend). We ran easy down to Town Lake (1.5 mi), then ran 30 minutes out and back at 6 minute pace or under (10 miles) and back up to the track easy (another 1.5 mi.). I then did a 25+ minute add-on up around Hancock and back on Speedway (4 mi.).

I didn't feel too settled at the uptempo pace on Town Lake, but it will take a few of these type of runs to get back on it so I was happy to ease into it with only one hour really hard. It was easy to run 6:15ish pace for my solo add-on.

Reverse Exposition Loop

Time: 71:00
Distance: 10.5 mi.
Map

Dragged myself out of bed for a loop on Exposition beginning with the section down Shoal Creek and then coming back up on the roads. Legs are pretty tired from yesterday, but it was a beautiful morning so I was happy to be out.

4 Mile Tempo

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 4 mile track tempo in 19:30 (4:55, 4:55, 4:50, 4:50), though honestly I was just hoping for a good effort over 4 miles
Workout: 4:55, 4:55, 4:55, 5:00 (19:45)

Overall not a bad workout, but I was hurting a bit running with Leo (who the target splits were set up for... he ended up running 19:20 by dropping it to 4:45 the last two miles). Darren had run the first 3 miles with Leo and then jumped in for the last half mile to help me out, which was, well, quite helpful. It was pretty warm out on the track. I finished up with a 30 minute cool down with Darren and then 10 minutes barefoot on the infield, including 8 x diagonal strides decently hard.

Tower Loop

Time: 40:00
Distance: 5.5 mi.
Map



Woke up pretty tired this morning so I was going to try to get in half my run in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. I ended up skipping the afternoon one in favor of a nap, as I was almost feeling a cold coming on. I haven't been sleeping great, so this was hopefully a good choice.

The run was pretty good, and I was setting out to make a new "set" loop. This may only be good for the morning because of the section through campus and on Guadeloupe that are often very busy during the day. The run loops through neighborhoods to Guadeloupe, loops around the UT Tower, and heads back past Hancock. I've added it to my list of Austin runs.

Campus, Shoal Creek Loop, IF

Time: 90:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Early morning run with Burnham. I'm having short term memory loss on this run, but we ran a variation of the Shoal Creek and Campus loop with a loop around Handcock and then I added some time on IF. Legs a little heavy again and feeling tired.

Scenic, Enfield Loop

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Ran with Joe and Darren from the track. Decided to not work out today, but will hopefully get back on that at the end of the week. It was a beautiful day and I felt pretty good. Legs still a little dead, but not too bad.

Campus Loop, North Loop

Time: 71:30
Distance: 10.5 mi.

Evening run from the house. Started south and picked up Dave, did a loop of campus and dropped him off again (it was his double run) and then headed west and north up upper shoal creek up to North Loop finishing down Guadeloupe to IF (where I ran into Raul). Body felt surprisingly good, and it was good to get the run in. I should get back into the morning routine, though, ASAP.

Week In Review

Time: 302:30
Distance: 46 mi.

Well this week somewhat concluded this "season" or probably more accurately the "build up" to the Spring. The US XC race actually made me a bit nostalgic, as I feel that the end of my serious running (as I've known it) really is near. I'm nostalgic for the belief that I really could accomplish almost anything I set my mind to in running. Even if my thoughts were unrealistic (and I knew it) they were just in the back of my mind, which was comforting. That being said, I'm also losing the feeling of jealousy that I have sometimes gotten for other people's athletic accomplishments. I think these feelings will be more settled when I figure out what I'm doing after graduation (which will hopefully be soon). Neely's race really psyched me up, too.

I need to set a spring racing schedule soon that will be fun and give me something to focus on. For the next week I think I am going to get mileage back up and do a long workout. I tend to enjoy competing more the more often I do it.

Also, my knee problem seems to be better, so I should be able to build back to some real training during the next two weeks.

Biking the Austin Marathon (Day Off)

I had a great morning biking all around the Austin Marathon (15-20 miles) watching Neely, Brian and John Welsh run. Neely ran an inspired race, starting off fairly conservatively and then ratcheting it down and picking people off in the second half of the race to finish 6th in 2:24, including one very quick pit stop.


Neely running through Hyde Park with under 5 miles to go

Brian's race may have been more unbelievable, however, as his training pretty much consisted of hanging out, complaining about work, and two long runs. He managed to run (banditing) 2:46 (is that right Brian?).


Hanley and John Welsh on the Congress Ave. bridge

I'm not sure when it would make sense, but I actually want to run a marathon now.

USA Cross Country Championships

Time: 80:00
Distance: 13 mi.



Well, given that I really didn't know what to expect, I am happy enough. The race itself was a good experience-the loops were definitely more fun than tedious. I wasn't as aggressive as I would've liked in the last 2 laps, but I was fighting off a side stich most of the race (I definitely wasn't hydrated enough). I don't know many of the splits, but I think we were through the first 2k under 6:10, which was about the pace that I thought I might be able to run... that was definitely aggressive, even though we were out the back. I tried to hang with Joe after that but had a hard time. I lost to a guy with grey hair in a Columbia jersey. My total time for 12k was 38:29, which breaks down to 3:12.5/k and 5:08/mi. For more, see full results at USATF.org.

I doubt Tarpy or Gaudette were particularly happy with their races. The Brown guys were up at Dartmouth. And the Texas guys have had a great weekend at the Tyson Invitational, with Jake and Kyle running 4:00, Jacob running 1:47 and the DMR breaking the NCAA (and world) record, running 9:25.

We got in an early shakeout in the morning, as well, down to the water in La Jolla where we got a peak at the seals.


The La Jolla seals

I'm taking a late flight through Las Vegas back to Austin to see Neely and Brian's friend John Welsh (and maybe Brian?) run the Austin Marathon.

Photo courtesy of Madeline

Mission Bay Park

Time: 40:00
Distance: 5.5 mi.

Easy run on the course at Mission Bay Park with Joe, Tarpy and Nick Weidman. The first kilometer of the loop is totally flat, but a little wind-ey and narrow. The second kilometer has five "hills" which are more like bumps.

Body is a little stiff, but the flight wasn't too bad and I was able to get a ride to the hotel with Joe's parents, which was really nice.

USA XC Preview

Tomorrow morning I'm taking off for the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego. I think my goals for this race are pretty simple: run hard and really compete in the last 1/3 of the race. Looking at the entrants there are a bunch of guys that it would be nice to beat... but who knows how it will go.

I don't have a great idea what to expect time or place-wise, but my traning has gone fairly well and my fitness (based largely on milage) is good. My long run two weeks ago was 100 steady minutes really dropping down the pace in the last 5 miles to mid-5:30s and I felt comfortable doing it. I also felt very strong and comfortable on a tempo run with the boys a few days before that where we averaged mid-4:50s. Even Tuesday's 1k repeats felt easier than I expected after some off days dealing with the tendonitis in my right knee.


The course map laid over satellite view

The course consists of a simple 2k loop that appears to be just in an open field. Of all the many cross country races I've run I've never been on a looped course, which will add to the experience...

Upper Shoal Creek, 29th, IF

Time: 41:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy morning run with Erik down upper Shoal Creek, back up to our place and a short loop on IF. Knee was a little bit tight, but not painful. I wouldn't really be tapering like this except I'm just worried about it. I'll be sure to get back on the miles as soon as it makes sense.

Ridgetop, IF

Time: 40:00
Distance: 6 mi.

Easy evening run with Brian (and Dave for a little bit). I really must have shocked my knee better somehow because I have had zero pain since the workout on Tuesday. I also managed to do this somehow last year with my IT band which was bothering me until I did a tempo run. Anyway, I'm not complaining. The run was easy and felt good.